The start of Discovery’s”Shark Week” earned its best ratings in 27 years, thanks in part to big gains with women.
Sunday’s start of the week earned a 2.27 rating in the key 25-54 demographic and 3.6 million total viewers. The night had an 18 percent increase in women 25-54, compared to a 6 percent increase for men and women combined in the demo.
The night’s “Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine,” at 9 p.m. earned a 2.43 rating and averaged 3.8 million total viewers.
“Air Jaws: Fin of Fury” at 8 p.m. earned a 1.96 rating in the 25-54 demo and averaged 3.3 million total viewers. An episode of “Shark After Dark,” Shark Week’s late-night talk show at 11 p.m., earned a 1.03 in the 25-54 demo and averaged 1.6 million total viewers.
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Shark Week drew attention online, earning 4 million Facebook interactions among about 3 million people on Sunday. Shark Week also drove 11 trending topics on Twitter Sunday night, and SharkWeek.com had a 10 percent increase in visitors from last year.